Kiss’ Simmons and Stanley Talk Cocks, Cattle and ‘The Elder’

Kiss founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley examine their personal relationship, compare sexual conquests and agree on their band's biggest mistake in a brand new interview.

Simmons gets the ball rolling by using semi-anatomical metaphors to explain what role he and his bandmate of over 40 years play in the ongoing success of Kiss. If you were somehow expecting subtlety from the author of lyrics such as "For goodness sakes / My snake's alive and it's ready to bite," you're in for a surprise.

'Paul is the soul of Kiss and I'm... the cock.' Simmons tells Classic Rock magazine. 'Paul is much more emotional, and I'm drier. Paul will go see romantic movies, I'll throw up at them." Drummer Eric Singer adds outside perspective to the dynamic: 'Gene loves the sound of his own voice, we all know that. But nothing happens in Kiss unless Paul Stanley says it does."

When asked the most burning question anyone can be presented with -- who's slept with more women, him or Gene -- Stanley replies, "I think I had more that would qualify as women. With him you were also throwing in cattle. But we both did very well. Gene likes to stand up and say: 'Look at me, and look at what I've done.' And that's okay. But who had more? I don't know. He certainly had ones that I didn't want."

One thing the duo agree on is the biggest mistake in Kiss history. Surprise, surprise, it's the oft-mocked 1981 concept album 'Music from the Elder.' "It was just folly," Stanley insists. "I'm not ashamed of it, but that and the movie 'Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park' stand out as us getting off at the wrong exit."

Simmons goes even further, declaring that the album "was entirely my fault... that started out as an idea for a movie, until Bob Ezrin read it and said, 'This will be your 'Tommy.' Oops! But that album refocused us. After that we were a wild animal, peeing on our territory and saying, 'We make the rules, not you."